Stephen J. Flanagan

Biography Flanagan was born in Boston, Massachusetts and was raised in Medford, Massachusetts. He received his A.B. from Columbia University in 1973 and his Ph.D. in international relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in 1979.

From 1978 to 1983, Flanagan was a professional staff member of the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

He joined Harvard Kennedy School in 1983 as a faculty member, becoming the executive director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, before joining National War College in 1987 as a senior fellow and faculty member between 1987 and 1989.

From 1989 to 1995, Flanagan was an associate director and member of the State Department's Policy Planning Staff and national intelligence officer for Europe between 1995 and 1997.

From 2013 to 2015, he served as special assistant to the president and senior director for defense policy and strategy at the National Security Council (NSC) Staff.

Personal life Flanagan and his wife, Lynn Wansley Flanagan, Senior Counsel in the Office of the General Counsel at the United States Department of Commerce, have two sons.